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New public health campaign against sugar.
AlabasterVerve
Posts: 3,171 Member
in Debate Club
Liverpool in drive to name and shame fizzy drink brands
Hard-hitting campaign seeks to cut children’s sugar intake in city with some of UK’s worst rates of obesity and tooth decay
"Sugary drinks can cause tooth decay, obesity and even type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers in the future."
Even though I actually do believe "too much" sugar is harmful (regardless of calories) I do question whether the current research supports these statements. Are good intentions enough for a government sponsored campaign against sugar sweetened beverages?
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Replies
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I don't mind this kind of campaign. They aren't demonising sugar in fruit, regular milk or other foods but they are highlighting the amount in common drinks. I think a lot of people just don't register that the juice or flavoured/sweetened milk or sports drinks they are giving their kids are giving them a whole lot of sugar and calories and not much else in the way of nutrition.
The message is pretty simplistic, I agree that there's certainly more to it than just sugar when it comes to diabetes, heart disease etc, but for this purpose where they want a simple visual message, I don't have a problem with it.
People who want more data and more information can find a more complex message in lots of places.
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I think this is a great campaign- EXCEPT that new research says that "low fat" is NOT good- especially for children!2
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Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.
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NewMEEE2016 wrote: »Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.
You don't know what you're talking about lol16 -
"Sugary drinks can cause tooth decay"
Rinsing the mouth with water, regular brushing, and flossing can prevent it too.9 -
I'm all for children getting proper nutrition so they can grow up properly. But a campaign that outright ließ about what sugar "causes" is just BS.8
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NewMEEE2016 wrote: »Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.
nope9 -
"Sugary drinks can cause ... some cancers in the future."
Atrocious English and poor science? Sounds about right for the UK DoH. Liverpool City Council is just following the poor lead.
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Lets be realistic, especially with the huge advertising slush funds these companies have, children will want these drinks. However, a few things are needed: proper funding of the alternatives to sugary drink - and I don't meant artificial ones either - so that they are widely available and affordable. Next let kids have those drinks - but try to moderate the amount they have, then cut back on advertising high sugar drinks. Will that happen? I doubt the soft drinks lobby will allow it.1
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Lets be realistic, especially with the huge advertising slush funds these companies have, children will want these drinks. However, a few things are needed: proper funding of the alternatives to sugary drink - and I don't meant artificial ones either - so that they are widely available and affordable.
Water needs funding?
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I'm not opposed to public health efforts against kids getting too many calories/huge amounts of sugar from drinks, even if that's an oversimplification of the issues (and last I saw soda consumption is already going down in the US, don't know about the UK, though). I would prefer that the information be more strictly accurate -- seems to me that would be sufficient.5
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NewMEEE2016 wrote: »Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.
This is one of the worst things I've ever read on here. Pseudo-science should be punishable by weight gain.
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It occurs to me that parents sometimes buy flavoured milk to get the kid to drink milk at all!
Sugared fruit drink to get at least some fruits into the kid!
Its been ages since I had young people in my home, but when I was little, I know chocolate milk was used that way, my daughter did such for her son, my grandson, so my hope is that naysayers for sugary drinks' know what they are doing demonizing all those things. Who knows what we should do or not do if we can't even find some obvious science to decide, take right actions and feel pretty confident about what we feed the kiddies?
Or is it just one more way to feed fear, raise cortisol, stress and hunger?3 -
Packerjohn wrote: »
Actually, brushing your teeth right after drinking soda is bad (or after consuming other acidic foods)-
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/really-never-brush-your-teeth-immediately-after-a-meal/?_r=06 -
NewMEEE2016 wrote: »Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.
How are they worse than sugar?2 -
It would be a lot better if they swapped "contribute to" for "cause" IMO.
"Cause" is a bit strong.
One would think that if these products could be directly proven to cause said health problems they would be pulled off the market.2 -
Really! If soda pop causes diabetes and cancer in kiddies it should be banned to anyone under 18 years of age.2
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I don't mind it. I couldn't give a damn how much sugar I nor my children eat, but I do understand how calories work. And a lot of people don't realize how many calories they or their family consumes via the drinks they chose. That includes myself.
As an adult, I used to drink a TON of regular soda or sugary lemonade with my meals. Even when I peeked at the calories of my meal, I somehow didn't think about the 600-1000 calories that I would regular add to a single meal. As a kid, Kool aid and Hi-C and red soda were staples. Switching some consumption over to diet drinks, lower calorie options, or even water (if it's an emergency) has the potential to help the obesity problem. It helped mine.
Demonizing sugar is dumb, but opening up people's eyes to the calories consumed in their drink choices is a net good, IMO.9 -
Love it since I'm enjoying the effects of sugar withdrawal. (headaches)0
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